Move Of More Prisoners Debated

The Department of Correction's proposal to send another 500 inmates to Virginia has the governor's support, but is meeting with mixed reactions from top legislators.

``It's a very good proposal,'' said state Rep. Robert Farr, R-West Hartford.

The state now pays $12.3 million annually to house 500 inmates in Virginia. Money would be taken from the correction department's budget to fund an additional transfer, Farr said.

Farr said Connecticut's prisons have about 700 inmates sleeping on cots in common areas and open spaces. He said at least 250 of those inmates have to be moved as soon as possible.

But Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee, opposes the proposal. He said he doesn't think that sending more inmates to Virginia is the answer to overcrowding in state prisons.

The state Department of Correction in 1999 sent 500 inmates to maximum-security Wallens Ridge prison in Big Stone Gap, Va., to ease crowding. The decision was criticized by prisoner-rights advocates and the relatives and friends of the inmates.

Some state legislators and agencies joined the call to return the inmates after two Connecticut inmates died at Wallens Ridge in 2000 under questionable circumstances. Inmate David Tracy, who had only a few months remaining on his 2 1/2-year sentence, hanged himself in a cell, and inmate Lawrence Frazier, a diabetic, died of cardiac arrhythmia after being shocked with a stun gun and placed in restraints.

Many inmates housed at the facility also accused correction officers of being abusive and racist. The state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is investigating those allegations.

The inmates have since been moved to Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va., and the additional 500 inmates would be sent there.

Because of the overcrowding in state prisons, inmates are sleeping in areas that are needed for education and treatment programs. Farr said that situation impedes the department's ability to prepare many inmates to return to their communities, increasing the likelihood that they will return to prison.

The state is working on modifying some prisons to create community justice centers, which would be used to treat nonviolent and low-risk inmates with addictions or mental illness.

``The reality is that we need more secure beds in which to house a steadily increasing population,'' said Correction spokesman Brian Garnett.

Lawlor said the state should develop alternatives to sending inmates out of state. He said the state now imprisons roughly 300 to 400 people for drunken driving violations, and he suggests that those people could be moved out of correctional facilities to less secure settings.

``I'm optimistic that we can find an alternative other than sending more guys and more money to Virginia,'' Lawlor said.